A man has been sentenced to federal prison for smuggling cocaine into the United States from the Pharr Port of Entry, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Hamdani said 58-year-old Fidel Aguirre-Montalvo pleaded guilty June 6, 2023. He was sentenced to serve almost four years in prison and three years of supervised release.

Aguirre-Montalvo arrived at the Pharr Port of Entry from Mexico on April 25, 2023. Authorities referred him for a secondary inspection where they discovered 24 bundles of cocaine hidden in the floor area of the vehicle, according to Hamdani.

Hamdani said Aguirre-Montalvo admitted to attempting to bring the narcotics into the country for an undisclosed amount of money.

The cocaine weighed approximately 25 kilograms and Aguirre will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.